FERGIE tells in his new autobiography how he was chasing Celtic great, who he describes as 'a real football aristocrat' until he got a personal call from Celtic powerbroker Dermot Desmond.

Fergie on Larsson: "We acquired a real aristocrat, for a two-month spell at any rate."

SIR ALEX FERGUSON admits he was warned off signing Henrik Larsson by a phone call from Parkhead powerbroker Dermot Desmond.

The former Manchester United boss backed off making a move to sign Larsson after Desmond persuaded him he already had enough quality players at Old Trafford without raiding the Hoops for their prized asset.

Ferguson eventually got his man on a 10-week loan in 2007 that was so successful the Swede was given a standing ovation by his team-mates in the United dressing room after his farewell appearance.

Sir Alex has told all in his new autobiography, released yesterday following a launch in the Institute of Directors in London’s Pall Mall that was attended by media from all continents.

Ferguson made his first move for Larsson when Martin O’Neill was in charge and the Parkhead icon was at the peak of his prowess that ultimately would lead to him scoring 174 goals in 221 appearances over seven years before he left for Barcelona in 2004.

Ferguson said: “I could have signed him earlier. I was ready to make the bid when he was at Celtic but Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s majority shareholder, rang me and said, ‘You’ve let me down, Alex, you’ve got tons of players, we need him.’”

Ferguson finally got his man on a short-term loan deal in January 2007 but even at the age of 35 he recognised Larsson still had so much to contribute at the sharpest end of the game, despite returning to first club Helsingborgs to play out his career.

Fergie added: “We acquired a real aristocrat, for a two-month spell at any rate. Jim Lawlor, United’s chief scout, pointed out to us that it was a waste for Henrik Larsson to be playing in Sweden when he still had so much to offer.

“Helsingborgs would not sell him but I asked Jim to ask their chairman what he would think about him coming on loan in January. Henrik pushed the boat in that direction with his employers.

“On arrival at United, he seemed a bit of a cult figure with our players. They would say his name in awed tones. For a man of 35, his receptiveness to information on the coaching side was amazing.

Andrew Couldridge/Action Images

Alex Ferguson at the launch of his autobiography

“At every session he was rapt. He wanted to listen to Carlos Queiroz, the tactics lectures, he was into every nuance of what we did. In training he was superb, his movement, his positional play. His three goals for us was no measure of his contribution.

“In his last game in our colours at Middlesbrough we were winning 2-1 and Henrik went back to play in midfield and ran his balls off. On his return to the dressing room, all the players stood up and applauded him and the staff joined in. It takes some player to make that kind of impact in two months.

“Cult status can vanish in two minutes if a player isn’t doing his job yet Henrik retained that aura. He looked a natural Man United player with his movement and courage. He also had a great spring for a little lad.”

United reaped the rewards of a former Celt who ended up at Old Trafford but Ferguson has also told how he knew Roy Keane’s time at Parkhead would end with a whimper, rather than a bang.

Ferguson has lifted the lid on his rift with the former Republic of Ireland skipper, which led to him being ditched by United in 2005 after an infamous interview with MUTV in which several younger players, including Scotland skipper Darren Fletcher, were verbally savaged by their captain following a match against Middlesbrough.

Accepting the effects of time and injury on his talisman, he tried to mould Keane into a different type of midfielder but the former Nottingham Forest kid continued to believe, in Ferguson’s words, “he was Peter Pan”.

Keane’s departure was inevitable and he signed for boyhood favourites Celtic but Ferguson soon knew his career was on the wane.

He said: “The dressing room relaxed when Roy left. Relief swept the room. They no longer had to listen to the barrage that some of them had grown to expect. Because he’d been a declining force, the gap he left was not as big as it would have been three years previously.

“I watched him in a Celtic-Rangers game and said to Carlos Queiroz beforehand, ‘He’ll be the star man today’.

“Roy was never in the game. He played a passive role. The dynamic, fist-clenching, demanding Roy Keane wasn’t there.

“He loved it at Celtic Park. I spoke to him about it and he praised the training, the facilities, the Prozone. Things did settle down between us.

“About two months later I was sitting in my office discussing team business with Carlos when a member of staff called to say Roy was here to see me. I was startled.

“He said, ‘I want to apologise to you for my behaviour’. That’s when he began describing the scene at Celtic and telling me how well his work was going. But when I saw him in that Rangers-Celtic game I knew he wouldn’t carry on with it.”

My Autobiography by Sir Alex Ferguson is published on October 24 by Hodder and Stoughton, priced £25.